Head-dibs

Death Beth Knows

(view Part 1) Reading 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 we discover that Paul’s greeting is loaded with golden nuggets--and we are just getting started. So far, we’ve explored the three worlds of Paul (Paul the Jew, Paul the Greek and Paul the Roman). Now let’s take a close look at Paul the Apostle. This is where we find him faithful. Paul, the man of many worlds was prepared by God to be a bridge, carrying the gospel to many cultures. We examine his apostleship because this is one issue Paul defends in this letter. There were questions about what this means, so he answers them. “Apostle” means more than simply “sent one” (not “pempo,” but “apostolos”). In common  day-to-day use the word describes a vessel outfitted for a specific expedition. It is related to “Admiral”, one armed with orders, the spearhead of logistics. More isolated uses reveal the word applied to an ambassador, a delegate, messenger--one sent off on commission to be someone’s representative. Specifically we under...

The other day I was doing an Active Recovery workout in our bedroom when these two jokers showed up to watch. They would not set foot across the threshold, even when I called. They just . . . watched.

( part 2 ) We are considering the elements of Paul’s greetings, focusing attention on 2Corinthians 1:1-2 . Last time we introduced the fact that Paul was a man of three worlds and we only looked at the first, exploring Paul the Jew. Let’s look into the second  and third worlds now and consider Paul the Greek and Paul the Roman. We read in Acts 9:10-16 that God sent Ananias to help Paul after Paul’s conversion and God tells Ananias that Paul is God’s chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. When in Antioch of Pisidia, after Paul preaches his first sermon, we find that the Jews rejected the gospel, but Paul reiterated God’s call: (Acts 13:47) “For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Paul quotes the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 49:6, which show that the nations have always been on God’s heart. Paul understood the Jewish roots of the Great Commission! Was it an a...

One topic often heard from objectors concerns the repentance of God where is often quoted, “God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Nu 23:19 KJV) against “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen 6:6 KJV). These and other scriptures seem to suggest contradiction concerning the nature of God. Perhaps in it’s most simplistic form, the question is really “how can one who does not change have a change either in mind or heart?” One way to answer the question is found in the Hebrew word "nacham", which is often translated “comfort” throughout Genesis (5:29; 24:67; 37:35; 38:12; 50:21--to select one book). This demonstrates how the Hebrew mind understands a wider range of meaning beyond simply, “to be sorry.”  The word carries the concepts  of lamenting, grieving over one’s actions ...

( read Part 1 ) The Apostle Paul began each letter in a nearly identical way, and each word is loaded with meaning, so he’s saying much more than, “howdy, readers!” Know what’s special about the FedEx logo? Its not the colors, but the arrow between the “E” and “x”. Sometimes we miss details.  One feature we often miss when we read 2 Corinthians 1:1-2  is that God inspired two authors to write the letter: Paul and Timothy. What do we know about Paul? We know that he was a man of three worlds: First, Paul was Jew. Jesus said He would build His church so He commissioned a handful of living stones to take the gospel into the world; however, the gospel is rooted in Judaism. The Roman perspective was that Jews were bad people, had bad ideas and gave bad advice. The Roman senator Tacitus called the Jewish nation “the vilest of all people.” The Roman Philosopher Cicero said that the Jewish religion was “a barbarous superstition.” Josephus records a popular idea th...

Have you read 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 ? I mean, really "read" it? Seems to be no different than any other letter written by the Apostle Paul,  doesn't  it?  One commentator had this to say, “It was a convention in ancient letters for the writer to express pious wishes for the health and well-being of his readers, invoking the names of the gods. Although he observed this practice in the form of his greeting, the apostle introduced the distinctively Christian hope that his readers will enjoy grace and peace which come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the words used here by Paul do not have any special force in this letter, since they are in identical form in greetings in six other letters.” (1) Frankly, that’s sad.  His words have no special force? Paul’s greeting was just reduced to, “hey, s’up?” I think there is something more here than “greetings” and the fact that Paul uses the same formula in every letter should be a clue that wh...

Question: “The Bible speaks of Jesus as God’s only begotten son, but there are many passages that say God has many sons. How many sons does God have: one, or many?” Answer: God has many sons, but only one “only begotten” son. Perhaps the best approach would be to discover “how” one is made a son. The first and most obvious answer is that one is made a son by birth, when a father brings a male child into the world, as in Adam being the son of God ( Luke 3:38 ). Adam’s also had children: Abel, who was pleasing to God and Cain, who displeased the Lord by keeping a hard heart. After Cain killed Abel, Adam had another son (Seth) who was pleasing to the Lord. The descendants of Abel (“sons of God”, nobility) took wives from the descendants of Cain (“daughters of men”, peasantry) as described in Genesis 6:2-4 . A second option would be that one is made a son by adoption. This is how “son” is applied to the Christian. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the s...

I think we should name it "Yeah, It Happened." 

Today is Prayer Day on the campus of Columbia International University .

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” [2Co 12:9 NKJV] When you think of the power of Christ, what comes to mind? God gives us a three-pronged explanation, so let’s plug in: First, the power of Christ is salvation from the penalty of sin, to everyone who believes. “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”  (Ro 1:16). The future hope we have connected to this is eternal life. “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6) Second, the power of Christ is salvation from the power of sin. This is overpowering power, not a mere balancing ...

Sometimes it is difficult to see something by standing too close--you gotta take a step back and look at the whole thing again. Often too, familiarity creates blind-spots and while we think we see or have seen, we actually no longer see because we think we “know, understand” what we are viewing. Jesus is a familiar figure that often gets relegated into the realm of by scrutiny and we often lose sight of who He is. This is one reason I am so grateful to have the angelic announcement to Mary concerning His birth. Luke records that the angel visited Mary with a birth announcement loaded with information. He does not merely say, “you’re gonna have a baby.” No, the angel makes some very specific statements about this child, identifying unique characteristics that distinguish this prophetic announcement.  First, the angel declares the Humanity of The Child, saying “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son” (Luke 1:31). How’s that for an ultra-sound. The yet-to-be conceived b...